Issues

ENERGY

Stop New Energy Taxes is working to save the Impact Tax that is vital to communities throughout our state.

Pennsylvanians need all energy options and the freedom to choose the best alternative energy choices for their families, not government imposed mandates on energy. The free market ensures the availability of abundant, reasonably priced energy, which is important for healthy businesses that foster job creation.

LABOR LAWS

Employment laws and regulations, as well as Pennsylvania's unemployment compensation and workers' compensation systems, should strike a balance between the rights of workers and the flexibility employers need to run their business efficiently and effectively. Unfair burdens on business hurt employers' efforts to grow their businesses and the jobs they provide.

LAWSUIT ABUSE

Pennsylvania's legal climate has long been ranked as one of the worst in the country and continues to create barriers to economic growth. Citizens to Protect PA Jobs is working with lawmakers to bring fairness and uniformity to the Commonwealth's legal system. Most recently we have been working on lawsuit abuse reform legislation that would bring more transparency and accountability to asbestos bankruptcy trust litigation.

Over the past several decades, many manufacturing and mining companies went bankrupt when asbestos was determined to cause various health problems. Federal bankruptcy proceedings for those companies established multi-billion dollar trust funds to ensure that asbestos victims were appropriately compensated for their injuries.

Unfortunately, this hasn't stopped plaintiff attorneys from turning to the civil court system to go after companies that might have only used or sold products containing asbestos, but that are solvent and could potentially bring a large pay day. They've found that the lack of communication between the bankruptcy process and the legal system presents a perfect opportunity to seek additional money for claimants that have may have already been appropriately compensated – and for themselves.

This abuse of the system threatens jobs and economic growth. To help mitigate this unfair "double-dipping" trend, Citizens to Protect PA Jobs supports legislation that would apply the principles of the Fair Share Act and bring more transparency to asbestos-related claims, ensuring communication between the administrative trust process and the court system. That way, a judge and jury will have full knowledge of the plaintiff's degree of asbestos exposure and trust money they've already been awarded before the case is heard in court. Armed with this knowledge, an appropriate level of additional compensation, if warranted, can be awarded and defendant companies will only be assessed liability based on their degree of fault.

This reasonable lawsuit abuse reform measure will address abuse of the Commonwealth's civil justice system and bring much needed transparency to Pennsylvania's legal environment.

RESPONSIBLE STATE SPENDING

Government should operate within its means: evaluating the effectiveness of current programs; weeding out waste, fraud and abuse in spending; and investing wisely in worthy state-run programs that directly benefit taxpayers.

Citizens to Protect PA Jobs works with elected officials toward ensuring that state budgets are balanced, on-time and do not place unreasonable new tax burdens on business owners who are the economic backbones of their communities. We are committed to enacting spending plans that include classroom-focused education spending, ensure the safety and reliability of our transportation infrastructure and address our major cost-drivers – particularly the state's public pension crisis. Each fiscal year, Pennsylvania's final budget should reflect the true responsibilities of state government and be crafted with the best interests of every citizen of the Commonwealth at heart.

TAX REFORM

Pennsylvania is a great place for businesses to locate and expand, but our complicated and burdensome tax structure has long driven business opportunities to other states. This includes a Corporate Net Income Tax that is the highest in the nation at 9.99 percent; a cap on Net Operating Losses and lack of clarity in the Tax Code. Citizens to Protect PA Jobs supports reforms that will bring uniformity to the state's tax structure, thereby improving Pennsylvania's competitive edge.

We are also advocating for a substantial overhaul of the federal tax code, as it hasn't been updated in more than 30 years which has caused the United States to miss out on billions of dollars in potential investment. Our organization supports initiatives that the U.S. Chamber and business advocates across the nation are urging Congress to adopt, including simplifying the overall code; lowering the federal corporate tax rate to improve our nation's competitive edge; allowing for the expense of capital investments to help free up a company's cash flow and devote more resources toward job creation; and moving to a territorial tax system in which a business is only taxed on income earned within the United State's borders.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Business owners from companies of all sizes have reported difficulty finding qualified job candidates to fill open positions. Several studies have also pointed to this being a real problem, as businesses work to grow and expand in post-recession America. As Pennsylvania faces the unique dilemma of having an aging population and a growing jobs skills gap, it becomes clear that strengthening our workforce development programs needs to be a top priority if we want to position the Commonwealth as a future economic leader.

Achieving this mission requires a multi-pronged approach from educators, business leaders, students and their families. It begins with the knowledge that a four-year college education isn't always necessary in order to enter into a rewarding and family-sustaining career; and providing tomorrow’s workers with information that will help them get the training they need to advance in a skilled trade position.

We support the advancement of conversations and programs that will help to narrow the skills gap while providing more opportunities for workers to advance in their careers in an ever-evolving economy.

Workforce Development

Pennsylvania has a workforce problem - a growing skills gap that is making it difficult for employers to find qualified job candidates to fill open positions. We're fighting to close this gap by working with businesses, educators, students and their families to help build the skilled workforce of tomorrow.

Responsible State Spending

Government should operate within its means: evaluating the effectiveness of current programs; weeding out waste, fraud and abuse in spending; and investing wisely in worthy state-run programs that directly benefit taxpayers.

Stop New Energy Taxes

Our natural gas industry holds the promise of economic growth and job creation. Additional taxes hinder this opportunity and drive companies to states with friendlier tax climates that share our resources. We're fighting against proposed new taxes on the industry that would pay for more state spending.